We've come full circle on this discussion. I started by pointing out there is a value sweetspot which differs by person. A brand new car is going to be most costly, and in theory, have the fewest headaches. A very old car can also be very costly because so many systems have been worn out. Poorer people can fall into this costly trap, especially when they have bad credit and must pay cash for a car.
Time is money. You might think you're saving money by spending a bunch of time wrenching on something, but maybe you're not. That time could have been looking for a better paying job, or improving job related skills, or simply working more hours at a job.
I've estimated a personal sweet-spot around 5 years old, and a person heavily involved with the industry has estimated it at 3 (lease turn in time).
In general, what age of vehicle is the value sweet-spot to you? In my view, there's no point looking at anything older than a decade because cars don't get a lot cheaper afterwards, and you still need to get some years of trouble-free use from it.
I'm one to talk though, my newest vehicle is the 2006 Acura. Thing is, it only has 115,000 mile and has been garage kept. I bought it 4 years old.
Only reason I have to get another vehicle is to get more seats for passengers. That's a "nice to have" reason, not a necessity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
But again, at the price of a Corolla, a VW Jetta looks enticing. Manual transmission and better fuel mileage than the non-hybrid Corolla. That and from what I understand VW has a better tire pressure monitoring system that doesn't have a sensor in each wheel which means I won't have to deal with the TPMS light coming on just because I changed my wheels for the winter set.
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You ever own a VW? You can't even check spark plugs without removing the exhaust manifold, and to do that you need Torx tools because it would be too easy if VW just used standard hex bolts.
Only VW I'd own would be under warranty, which means I'll never own one.